We always think US Bank Club Carlson Premier Visa, with an annual fee of $75, an interesting and potentially very rewarding product. However, huge changes are coming to this card as of June 1, 2015:
Second Rewards Night Free feature will be discontinued and replaced with a new feature that gives you a free night at any Club Carlson hotels worldwide if you spend $10,000 a year on the card.
Since the last round of devaluation of Club Carlson Gold Points in February 2014, our valuation of the Club Carlson points has been 0.35 cent per point. However, if you are a US Bank Club Carlson Premier Visa holder, you will enjoy the Second Rewards Night Free feature - essentially double the value of the points (to 0.7 cent per point) if you always redeem for exactly two nights. Since the credit card returns 5x and 10x points for general purchases and Club Carlson purchases, respectively, the equivalent rewards on the card becomes 3.5% or 7% - which is extremely high, at least on paper. The reason why we haven't place this card on our Top List with our favorite miles/points cards is, as written in our featured review on Cards worth paying annual fees without spending in November 2014, that "Our only concern is that you may be putting all your eggs in one basket if you solely use this card since it is not unusual for frequent travel program to have sudden dramatic devaluation". The upcoming changes unfortunately validate our concern.
So the bottom line for the credit card after June 1, 2015 is that it probably won't be that great for general spending since the rewards will be 1.75% (it is not hard to find a 2% cash back card). However, since you will continue to enjoy the 40,000 annual bonus points (worth $140 in our book) when you renew and pay $75 annual fee and will have an opportunity to earn a free night with $10K spending, this card may still worth keeping. Now the most important message for our readers is that if you have the credit card, consider redeem your Club Carlson points before June 1, 2015. Your actual stay may be up to 12 months after your booking.
Second Rewards Night Free feature will be discontinued and replaced with a new feature that gives you a free night at any Club Carlson hotels worldwide if you spend $10,000 a year on the card.
Since the last round of devaluation of Club Carlson Gold Points in February 2014, our valuation of the Club Carlson points has been 0.35 cent per point. However, if you are a US Bank Club Carlson Premier Visa holder, you will enjoy the Second Rewards Night Free feature - essentially double the value of the points (to 0.7 cent per point) if you always redeem for exactly two nights. Since the credit card returns 5x and 10x points for general purchases and Club Carlson purchases, respectively, the equivalent rewards on the card becomes 3.5% or 7% - which is extremely high, at least on paper. The reason why we haven't place this card on our Top List with our favorite miles/points cards is, as written in our featured review on Cards worth paying annual fees without spending in November 2014, that "Our only concern is that you may be putting all your eggs in one basket if you solely use this card since it is not unusual for frequent travel program to have sudden dramatic devaluation". The upcoming changes unfortunately validate our concern.
So the bottom line for the credit card after June 1, 2015 is that it probably won't be that great for general spending since the rewards will be 1.75% (it is not hard to find a 2% cash back card). However, since you will continue to enjoy the 40,000 annual bonus points (worth $140 in our book) when you renew and pay $75 annual fee and will have an opportunity to earn a free night with $10K spending, this card may still worth keeping. Now the most important message for our readers is that if you have the credit card, consider redeem your Club Carlson points before June 1, 2015. Your actual stay may be up to 12 months after your booking.
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